Feliz Navidad

Some things I have learned about celebrating Christmas away from home:

1.  Christmas stockings don´t just appear on Christmas morning (although I have children who might think otherwise!)  This is the 1st Christmas in my entire life (and that is a long life!) that I have NOT had a Christmas stocking...more specifically MY Christmas stocking.  Next year I will fix that problem.

2.  Christmas miracles are real.  We were without natural gas since Monday, Dec 19 due to a break in the gas line.  The whole valley was without gas.  The showers were VERY cold and we could not use our stove which is gas.  That made preparing Christmas dinner a little tricky.  I would carry pots and ingredients to the office as there is a 2 burner electric stove top there.  I would prepare part of the food and carry it back home to finish.  The prediction was that the gas would be out until after the first of the year.  At 10am on Dec 24 the gas was turned back on...A Christmas Miracle.

3.  Some ingredients are worth paying 6 times the cost in the United States.  Having looked and asked everywhere for Karo Syrup, I was at the point of giving up when I walked into a small store and they were unloading bottles of Karo Syrup.  I want one of those!  And at 22 mil pesos a bottle it was worth the price (that is almost $12 a bottle!)  Now if I could just find canned pumpkin...it would be worth the price, too!

4.  Some ingredients can not be substituted for in recipes.  Such as: creamed corn, real lemons, cool whip, and raspberries.  I tried...and I will not make those recipes again next year.

5.  The feeling of serving and helping someone else in need is just as sweet here as it was at home.

6. Silent Night has a different meaning here in Colombia.  There is actually nothing Silent about it.  The parties on Christmas Eve involve a lot of loud music, dancing, fireworks, gun powder explosions...all of this beginning at about midnight and going until about 4am! 

7.  Our Christmas traditions are important.  So very grateful that my children love their Christmas traditions and are carrying them on so well without us.  I missed some key traditions of my childhood...abelskivers and fry cakes.  Though I was never there with my ancestors when they made them, somehow once a year through these traditions I can feel the family chain stengthened. 

8.  Skyping with grandchildren is not the same as being there, but it was a miracle via skype to be right there in the same room with toys, wrapping paper, Christmas songs, and the excitement in their eyes.  Ever so grateful for the creator of skype!

all 5 of the Prince Kids together and talking to us on Skype!!

9.  There is NO such thing as vacation for Christmas on a mission.  The phone calls are even more abundant, missionaries still get sick, lives still are changed, the gospel still preached, baptisms still performed, hearts still need consoling, and someone has to do it.  Called to serve...

10.  Remembering Christ´s birth can be done any day, any time, any place, and with anyone.  Sharing this great gift with others is so important.  Feeling the love of our Savior through the words, hearts, and helping hands of others is achievable no matter where you live.  We all need to just find time to "be still...and know..." the Lord is never far away from us.  For this we Adore Him, call His name Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

The weather outside is frightful...

RAIN...more rain...and even more...

Water, water all around and in Manizales not a drop to drink!

The rain has caused its share of problems.  Manizales is again without water. 

Our missionaries there are real pioneers.

BUT...

we do not have to shovel the rain and it isn't cold.  A MERRY Christmas!!

This week we said good bye to Elder Bastias...back to Chile and a new chapter...

how we will miss that smile!

SUPER CALI!!!

6 Zones gathered in Cali for training and a Christmas Fiesta.

Popayan, Tulua, Palmira, Calima, Villa Colombia, y San Fernando.

Listening to them sing Christmas hymns was inspiring.

Watching them hug and visit with each other was touching.

Enjoying their many talents was amusing.

Worshipping and celebrating together was heart warming.

We love this big missionary family!!

See Super Cali Slideshow on righthand of page!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December is here!
Come Let Us Adore HIM....

Christmas in the mission field

Memories of home

Sounds of Christmas carols in a foreign language.

No snow,

Lots of lights,

Very few of the ingredients I like to bake with.

No children,

Lots of missionaries,

Very few moments to deck the halls.

No Christmas cards to send,

Lots of hustle and bustle,

Very few jingle bells and ho, ho, ho.

The Christmas story

reminds us of HIS glory

Constant as the shining star

that guided wise men from afar

Christmas in the mission field
Sharing the story of HIS glory
Memories of our eternal home

December is here

And the travel and parties continue...

First to Medellin

One of the gifts of this trip was reuniting
President Prince with his first missionary companion, Javier Ocampo.
I would say Elder Ocampo was a VERY good trainer!

Merry Christmas from Zona Medellín

Although we do not have to travel by donkey to be taxed
sometimes it might be easier than flying to Pasto!
Travel to Pasto is complicated.
We arrived at the airport to find out the flight was delayed 3 + hours
We changed flights and flew into Bogota
We waited
We arrived at the Pasto airport at 12:45pm
Taxi ride into Pasto got us to the chapel just minutes before 2pm

The meeting was supposed to start at 11:30 with lunch at 12:30...
they saved us lunch and brought over a microwave to warm it up.

We adjusted...there was room in the inn when we arrived and we were welcomed with smiles!

Merry Christmas from Zona Pasto
(Papa Noel is none other than our Elder Garcia serving in Ipiales!)

here a little, there a little

When we are "here" (in Cali) we are making plans to be "there" (some other part of the mission)

 and when we are "there" we are wishing for our bed back "here". 

Living out of a suitcase and being on the go has become our norm.

We were asked to attend a Stake Conference in Pereira with Elder Rafael Pino, president of our area.

He spent some specialized training time with our missionaries in the Pereira Zone.  We have emphasized the need of the missionaries and members to work hand in hand.  President Pino has

re-issued the call to double the baptisms in this area.  Listos Siempre Listos!!

Zone leader counsel is always a great meeting.  These leaders have to teach, help sick missionaries, organize, and administer temporal affairs in their zones all while trying to preach the gospel and be an example of baptizing and leadership to those they lead.  We had 7 new zone leaders at this counsel.  We

are blessed to have such great young men learning to be leaders.

Friday we were "here" in Cali, Saturday and Sunday "there" in Manizales, Monday and Tuesday "there" in Pereira, and Wednesday "there" in Armenia.  "There" are hotels that we would rather not stay at and we are always happy to get back "here".

We started our round of Christmas Celebrations. 

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Eje Cafetero...

Celebrating with Zona Manizales, Zona Pereira, y Zona Aremenia

A Christmas Program, lunch, talent show and movie...A wonderful day of celebration.



Comings and Goings...miracle week!

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.

Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.

And we are never, ever the same.”

The missionaries come into our lives as they gather their new suitcases and exit the airport with shiny new name tags, new suits, and high hopes. 

We are there to greet them and welcome them to the best mission in the world. 

They are full of optimism, faith, and a lot of questions.

After two days of interviews, greetings, training, and eating, they go off with their first  companion, to their first area to preach the gospel, live with a companion, meet the members, etc....this is when the real learning begins.

Welcome Elders

Pezantez, Borg, Amado, Murillo, Heredia, Hidalgo, Matos, Duque y Mendez

Welcome Elder Chugg

 

Visa problems make our comings and goings even more interesting! 

Elder Chugg arrived 2 days after our group this week as he waited in the Provo MTC for his Visa to arrive.  We were grateful to have him arrive safely Thursday morning. 

As the new missionaries are coming to our mission, there is a lot going on in the background.  We have missionaries coming and going from one extreme of the mission to the other.  The assistants and office elders are up at 2:30 am to wake up other missionaries and get them to the terminal on the correct buses.  We have missionaries accepting new areas, new companions, and new leadership responsibilities.  They are coming to learn that they are going to have to rely on the spirit to lead them.

It is a Miracle when each of 12 zones checks in that all have arrived at the appropriate destination and everyone that was supposed to come came and was supposed to go went...

Miracle week...all done on very little sleep...with a lot of incredible missionaries!

The missionaries go out of our lives as they go through the security gates at the airport with worn shoes, tattered suits, and two years of experience that makes them stand a little taller.

Their footprints are all over our hearts.  They may leave the mission, but will never go far from our thoughts...

Goodbye Elders and Sister
Tumbaco, Rosales, Martinez, Florez, Gallo, Fuentes, Farr, Aragon, Ayola, Contreras, Valderrama, Velasquez, y Hermana León

This week we said goodbye to our first assistants, Elders Farr and Gallo,...they will always hold a special place in our hearts...without them we would not have survived the first few weeks here in Colombia. 

We watched these missionaries go....we have come to love each one of them...the mission will go on and they will go on with their lives...but ours will never, ever be the same!

Hasta ver!

Survivors...

This week we finished zone conferences.  Each week I learned more and more.  The missionaries consumed a lot of banana bread, sang a lot of happy birthday, cleaned up their area books, worked on English, had an interview with President Prince, played hard and learned more about sacrifice, the atonement, and what it really means to be a representative of Jesus Christ from the inside out!

Our final 3 zones....

Zona Armenia

Elders Ayola, Mendoza, Jensen, Barón, Trigozo

Andrade, Solorzano, Allauja, Naranjo, Ramirez

Hermanas Banzer y Bautista  and Elders Gimenez y Valderrama

Zona Pereira

Elders Vilchez, Flores, Florez, McKay, Tauaese, Almeida, Peek, Chirinos

Elders Tellez y Catala and Hermanas Leguizamon y Valencia

Zona Manizales

Elders Castro, Holden, Quinonez, A. Martinez, Lacey, Jara, Vera

Rivas, Diaz, y Utreras

And President Prince celebrated his birthday on the last day of zone conferences...his is a real survivor!

Rest for the weary...

No phone calls...our phones didn't work in Peru!
Soft beds & warm showers...the accomodations were great!
The sound of the ocean...soothing the troubled soul!
Breakfast, lunch and dinner...the food was abundant and the ceviche was incredible!
Walks by the beach every morning...our bodies were grateful for the exercise!
A day of sightseeing...we were amazed at the beauties of this world and our gifts from Heavenly Father!
Support, encouragement, and feasting on the good word...our spirits were lifted as we listened to our Area Presidency and shared with the other mission presidents and wives.

OKAY....MAYBE, we can do this for another 4 months!
________________________________________________________________________________

After 4 months on the job, we were called off to an Area training in Peru with our area presidency...Elder Pino, Elder Uceda, and Elder Waddell.  Our itinerary arrived and we packed our bags and headed off to Peru leaving the counselors of the mission presidency and our trusty office crew in charge!
We flew to Bogota on October 30 arriving late at night, spent the night in a hotel and then at 4am went to the Bogota airport for our flight.  We were joined by 5 other couples...the other Colombian mission presidents, Area medical advisor, and the MTC president.  We had plenty of time to get acquainted as our 6am flight was delayed due to fog and we didn't leave until almost 11am!

We were picked up at the Lima airport and bused to the Area offices.  There we joined the other mission presidents, area presidency and boarded new buses for our 4 hour ride to Paracas. 

This is the 1st Halloween in as long as I can remember that I haven't carved a pumpkin, decorated my house, or passed out candy.  It was a bit strange.  As I enter the holidays this year, I am trying to decide how to make them special.  I LOVE the holidays....I just have NO time to fuss over them....I need to work on this problem...IF I find some extra time!

We spent 2 days listening to our area presidency counsel and teach us.  So many things that I can do better.  Our 3rd day was spent enjoying the sights in Paracas...Isla Ballestas, National Reserve, and a Catamaran ride in the bay.



Friday, Nov 4 we traveled back to Cali arriving at 1am in the morning....here we go again!